1981 Lancia Beta Coupe - The Nicest I've Seen...

Most of us reading this blog will remember the Beta (if we remember them at all) as used cars that were usually beat up, sitting in the back row of a local used car lot. An inordinate number of them were painted silver. (A color that didn't hold up very well.) Most had tired interiors and some sort of mechanical or electrical "glitch". All of them had rust. It was pretty easy to forget just how nice these cars were when they were new. This car is a reminder...

This is, quite frankly, the nicest Lancia Beta Coupe I have ever seen. Seeing this car makes me realize why people spent real money for them when they were new and makes me wonder why even more people didn't.

This is a 1981 Beta Coupe. 1981 was the last year for the Beta Coupe in the US. (The sedan and HPE had already disappeared). The Zagato was sold in in the US in 1982, after which Lancia disappeared from the US completely.

The Beta's well known rust problems, mechanical issues and Fiat's complete lack of understanding of the US market have been well documented. I won't go into it now. I just want to point out this car...

The 2.0 liter fuel-injected engine found in this car a gem. Not well known in the US (because it was found in Fiats and Lancias), the engine is durable and loves to rev. With a bit of commonsense maintenance, it's durable and trouble free.

In typical Italian fashion, there are neat little "touches" to the car. The sideview mirror is mounted on (and through) the front quarter glass and the rear seating area is two large bucket-type seats with a light in between them.

But enough of all that, you really need to check out the eBay listing for this car. Unless you owned one when new or have restored one recently, there's a pretty good chance you've never seen one quite as nice as this one.

Located in West Linn, OR, click here to see the listing.